Seneca Falls, New York

Amelia Bloomer


Objective
I, Amelia Bloomer, would like to first and foremost stop the drinking of alcohol. So many people have had injuries and deaths because of it. For example “A man when drunk fell into a kettle of boiling brine at Liverpool, Onondaga Co. and was scaled to death.” Clearly it is not possible for people to use it safely. Another cause that is dear to my heart is women's rights. We deserve equal opportunities in education, the government, and the economy. If only I had support from the president, I could advance my goals. The most beneficial thing Jackson could do would be to propose legislature. A law against drinking alcohol would stop it all together. Women's rights could also be helped if they were allowed to vote, own property and attend any school of their choice.
Accomplishments
For a while I wrote articles for my husband's newspaper, The Seneca Falls Courier. Then my friends encouraged me to start my own paper. It was called The Lily and was about women's issues. Another accomplishment of mine is not quite as impressive but there is a new fashion trend that is named after me. Although other women have worn shorter dresses and trousers underneath, because I advocated for them in my paper, the pantaloons underneath have come to be known as bloomers. A third accomplish I have had was introducing Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The two of them became friends and worked together to found the National Woman Suffrage Association.
Activities/Interests
One activity I participated in was the Woman's Rights Convention. There and at many other locations I gave public speeches. Writing is also an interest of mine. I first started writing for my husband's newspaper but then started my own about women's issues.
Education
I was only formally educated for two years but I am a school teacher. My peers seem to believe that I am quite smart.
References
Susan B. Anthony
My friend Susan began her political career fighting for temperance but realized women's rights was a problem when she went to a convention and wasn't allowed to speak. She was one of my friends who motivated me to start my newspaper. I helped her continue her reformation by introducing her to my other friend, Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Without my dear friend Elizabeth, The Lily might never have been started. She encouraged me to publish it and she also wrote articles under the pseudonym "sunflower." She wrote about everything from temperance and women's rights to child bearing and education.


Sources
Kerley, Jessica P. "Amelia Bloomer." Domesticating the Frontier. Kenyon College, 11 May 2001. Web. 23 Feb. 2010
http://www2.kenyon.edu/Khistory/frontier/ameliabloomer.htm

"Women's Rights National Historical Park - Amelia Bloomer (U.S. National Park Service)." U.S. National Park Service. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.
http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/amelia-bloomer.htm